Lakers fan Malisiyana Edwards, 7, joined by her mother Alisia, holds up an image of her favorite player, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, while seated among Sacramento Kings give away t-shirts before an NBA game in Sacramento, Calif., Dec. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Give Jim Brown credit. At least he’s consistent.

Back in 1992 the NFL Hall of Famer had this to say about Michael Jordan:

“He’s more interested in his image for his shoe deals than he is in helping his own people.”

Then in 2009, he had this to say about Tiger Woods: “He’ll run you over, he’ll kick your (butt), but as an individual for social change or any of that kind of (stuff) ... terrible. Terrible.”

And this week, while appearing on the Arsenio Hall Show, Brown said this about Kobe Bryant: “He threw (Shaquille O’Neal) under the bus and he is somewhat confused about (African-American culture) because he was brought up in another country. He doesn’t quite fit what’s happening in America.”

And then this:

“In the days when we had a summit and we called the top black athletes together to talk to Muhammad Ali about his status with the armed forces, there were some athletes we didn’t call. If I had to call that summit all over, there would be some athletes I wouldn’t call. Kobe would be one of them.”

Notice a trend?

An African-American athlete rises to iconic status but isn’t lock and step with Brown’s idea of what a black superstar should be about.

So Brown calls him out publicly for not thinking like him, acting like him or fighting the exact same fight he does.

Ironic, isn’t it?

For someone who stood so tall in the fight for black America’s inalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Brown sure seems offended when a fellow black American pursues his contentment exactly as he pleases.

For someone who fought so diligently for blacks to be treated and judged as human beings rather than by skin color, Brown certainly seems angry that a fellow black thinks and acts as an individual rather than be perpetually bound by the singular message of one race.

The greatest irony of all is a man who assisted the movement to eradicate skin color as a basis for treatment is calling out Bryant for not being black enough.

Bryant, who spent ages 6-13 growing up in Italy while his dad played professional basketball there, understandably was stunned by Brown’s harsh comments and initially took to Twitter to respond:

“A “Global” African American is an inferior shade to “American” African Americans?? #hmm.. that doesn’t sound very #Mandela or #DrKing sir”

He later expounded on his feelings.

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“It surprised me in the sense that it came out of left field. I’ve never even met him. It came out of left field. But I do think it’s a great opportunity to have this conversation, to have this discussion. No matter where you come from, whether you come from Italy, whether you come from Inglewood, whether you come from London it doesn’t matter.

“Ultimately the conversation is that it doesn’t matter what color skin you are to begin with. But I think it’s a good place to start and have a good conversation.”

It was an eloquent response to a completely unnecessary and unprompted personal attack by Brown. While Brown has a right to his opinion, off base and presumptuous as it might be, it seems rather petty and judgmental for someone who fought so hard to broaden the view of black Americans well beyond skin color.

He questions where Bryant fits in black America as if there is room for just one voice in that community, conspicuously neglecting the reality the beauty of every race lies in its wide range rather than narrow scope.

He insinuated because Bryant didn’t spend his entire childhood in America he isn’t well-versed enough in the black culture — as if it’s some secret club — and therefore wouldn’t be welcome if Brown ever called a summit of black athletes to discuss black issues.

Doesn’t that contradict everything Brown’s devoted so much of his life to?

The sin of silencing someone because they are different than you?

And how incredibly short-sighted to close yourself off to contrary ideas and diverse thinking when the greatest solutions typically derive from well-rounded discussions in which more voices are heard, not less?

Brown has been a worthy solider in one of the great human rights battles in the history of mankind, and he is correct in believing the battle is not yet over.

But the dynamics of today’s fight simply are not the same as they were when he stood front and center in the civil rights movement the 1960’s — iconic figures like Bryant, Jordan and Woods gleaming examples of that progress.

And the battleground isn’t confined simply to America. A global star like Bryant reaches well beyond his own borders to raise money and awareness for a variety of causes world-wide.

I would urge Brown — and anyone else for that matter — to visit the the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation website at http://kvbff.org/ to see exactly what kind of impact he makes nationally and internationally.

It might not satisfy Jim Brown’s notion of where Bryant fits into the African-American community, but in the larger context of the human race Bryant needs not defend himself to anyone.